A Report on Sme Financing in India
Executive Summary:
Many SMEs in emerging markets often rely on informal sources of capital, such as borrowing from relatives, to meet finance needs. However, when a small or medium enterprise does access formal channels, it typically looks to a bank as its primary source of financial services. Banks have begun to turn their attention toward this untapped market and their service of SMEs is a major factor in increasing SME access to finance. Although, numerous issues surface when it comes to SME lending, banks, by employing a range of measures, such as risk adjusted pricing, credit scoring models, and SME-tailored non-lending products are developing ways to mitigate risks, lower costs, and increase the overall benefit accrued from SME banking.
Question 1: Why Banks should lend to SMEs?
SME banking is an industry in transition. From a market that was considered too difficult to serve, it has now become a strategic target of banks worldwide. The “missing middle,” describing the gap in financial services provided to SMEs, is shrinking. SME banking appears to be growing the fastest in emerging markets (low- and middle-income countries) where this gap has been the widest. More and more emerging market banks are developing strategies and creating SME units. IFC’s committed portfolio of investments in SME financial institutions has grown dramatically over the last five years — by 271 percent — totaling $6.1 billion as of end of FY09.
The SME market has been perceived in the past by banks as risky, costly, and difficult to serve. However, mounting evidence suggests that banks are finding effective solutions to challenges such as determining credit risk and lowering operating costs, and are profitably serving the SME sector. For these banks, unmet SME demand for financial services has become an indicator of opportunity to expand their market share and increase profit.
Following are the important reasons why banks look forward lending to SMEs: * Competition in other
Many SMEs in emerging markets often rely on informal sources of capital, such as borrowing from relatives, to meet finance needs. However, when a small or medium enterprise does access formal channels, it typically looks to a bank as its primary source of financial services. Banks have begun to turn their attention toward this untapped market and their service of SMEs is a major factor in increasing SME access to finance. Although, numerous issues surface when it comes to SME lending, banks, by employing a range of measures, such as risk adjusted pricing, credit scoring models, and SME-tailored non-lending products are developing ways to mitigate risks, lower costs, and increase the overall benefit accrued from SME banking.
Question 1: Why Banks should lend to SMEs?
SME banking is an industry in transition. From a market that was considered too difficult to serve, it has now become a strategic target of banks worldwide. The “missing middle,” describing the gap in financial services provided to SMEs, is shrinking. SME banking appears to be growing the fastest in emerging markets (low- and middle-income countries) where this gap has been the widest. More and more emerging market banks are developing strategies and creating SME units. IFC’s committed portfolio of investments in SME financial institutions has grown dramatically over the last five years — by 271 percent — totaling $6.1 billion as of end of FY09.
The SME market has been perceived in the past by banks as risky, costly, and difficult to serve. However, mounting evidence suggests that banks are finding effective solutions to challenges such as determining credit risk and lowering operating costs, and are profitably serving the SME sector. For these banks, unmet SME demand for financial services has become an indicator of opportunity to expand their market share and increase profit.
Following are the important reasons why banks look forward lending to SMEs: * Competition in other